Blues vs Stormers
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@mariner4life said in Blues vs Stormers:
How the fuck is Akira not an All Black? It defies belief
Few work-ons, too much attitude and stuck behind the Highlanders B team reserve 6.
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Great win by the Blues. That is the sort of game they used to lose.
Parsons still a liability.
Nonu looked decent.
Rieko acting like a cock again after his try. He seems to be taking Akira’s quota of dickhead pills this season.
Thought Akira was pretty quiet early on but by the end he was pulling off plays that should have secured the game much earlier if they could just finish them off.Thought red wash harsh but pretty much in line with how they have been ruling it. No doubt the red card will be cancelled at the hearing.
Going to be really interesting to see how the Blues go for the rest of the year. With the way the other teams are playing they could end up second in the NZ conference.
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@Kirwan said in Blues vs Stormers:
Our bench is really making a mark in games now, the second half injection of three All Blacks is working well. Four I guess if you include Pulu.
Considerable maturity and mental fortitude from the Blues tonight. Not seen those qualities from them in a long time.
SBW superb off the bench. Akira Ioane and Patrick T have so much potential and are developing into better players. Reiko Ioane was absolutely outstanding. 2019 could be his year.
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Once they got their shit together, thought the following players really stood out
Akira
Robinson
Patty T
Cowley-TuiotiRieko was patchy, but when he was on, man he was on
Big ups also to the Blues defence coach, thought they have been bloody good at defending their line in the last couple of outings -
@mariner4life all good bro he is the 52nd best player in NZ.
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@sparky said in Blues vs Stormers:
@Kirwan said in Blues vs Stormers:
Considerable maturity and mental fortitude from the Blues tonight. Not seen those qualities from them in a long time.
They looked like they were lapsing into the old stupidity toward the end there though. 15 points up and there were 3 really stupid acts in a row. A 'change track obstruction', a ball kicked away after a penalty and a high shot. All unnecessary and all lucky that they were either not ruled or just 'legal'.
On the positives though, the defence was good and just when they looked like going all individual (as they have been prone to in the past) they got their shit together.
Must have been the onfield coaching from the waterboy
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@sparky said in Blues vs Stormers:
@Kirwan said in Blues vs Stormers:
Our bench is really making a mark in games now, the second half injection of three All Blacks is working well. Four I guess if you include Pulu.
Considerable maturity and mental fortitude from the Blues tonight. Not seen those qualities from them in a long time.
SBW superb off the bench. Akira Ioane and Patrick T have so much potential and are developing into better players. Reiko Ioane was absolutely outstanding. 2019 could be his year.
As opposed to his other shit years?
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According to the Sanzaar stats page Tom Robinson made a match high 23 tackles without missing one. Also the Blues made 182 tackles missing 25 to the Stormers 92/26.
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@Daffy-Jaffy Those are some defensive stats
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Well shit, this feels weird. Three in a row - can't remember the last time that happened. I'm looking forward to watching the replay, but some good efforts out there.
MOTM for me was Big Karl. He made a serious difference when he came on - in teh scrums, and around the park. The Black try came because the props got go-forward in the scrum, and those inches turn into metres wider. A thing of beauty.
Rieko may have looked quiet on TV, but by god he oozes class on the field. His pace to set up Telea was unreal - was there and covered, and suddenly away and throwing a perfect ball. Very good on defence, some decent reads and chased hard. Looked outstanding.
Nonu is showing his age. Too slow to be an AB, and struggling at this level to impose himself. He puts himself in great positions - the brain and instinct is still there - but then the acceleration and pace is gone and people just pull him down. Old Nonu of a few years ago would have busted out of or run away from some of the tackles he got hit with. That said, his 25 m pass was a thing of beauty tonight.
The pack is looking better - like last week, very good in teh loose and working on the set piece. Amazing that we're going OK despite some of the weaknesses. Winning is a habit, and goddamn it feels good. We're a long way from 2015, with our 3-13 record
More than anything, you can see theplayers starting to play for each other and the team, and play a pattern where they are on the same page as each other. Some of the defence was EDIT: outstanding. Good fun, and let's keep rolling baby. Next year might be our year!
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Haha if that's a red card then the game has lost it's way. Silly move by nanai though.
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@Stargazer said in Blues vs Stormers:
This is circulating on social media. South Africans
claimingwhining that Nanai should be cited (and the usual crybabery about refs).Fixed that for you.
Having done that I was surprised at the time that the ref didn't want to have a closer look.
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Special mention to Ruru.
That was his best Super game so far.
Defensively he is very good - in terms of instincts and physicality. I think the game suited his style.
His kicking was also good.
Yes his distribution is an issue but his passes for the Blues two set piece tries were bang on the money.
